A counterfeit item is an item, typically of inferior quality, that is manufactured, marketed or sold under a trademark or brand name for the purpose of competing with or acting as a substitute for an authentic (or original) item associated with the trademark or brand name, without the permission of the trademark or brand owner. Such items, which are sometimes called “knockoffs,” are commonly manufactured or assembled in low-cost environments that are subject to significantly relaxed standards, and wrapped in packages having labels, characters, trademarks or other indicia that are similar to those of the authentic goods. Moreover, the number, type, size and value of items that may be counterfeited are unlimited. Currently, some categories of items that are commonly counterfeited include, but are not limited to, electronics, shoes, drugs, multimedia (e.g., movies, music or video games stored on discs or other storage media), clothing, perfumes, watches, cigarettes, computer hardware or toys.
The damages that may result from counterfeiting are numerous and widespread. In many instances, counterfeiting may cause actual, physical harm to purchasers or users of counterfeit items. For example, counterfeit pharmaceuticals that are prepared by unlicensed workers in substandard facilities may contain impurities or other harmful ingredients in unacceptable concentrations and may lead to adverse effects in patients who consume them. Likewise, counterfeit auto parts or other equipment may fail sooner or in different manners than the authentic items from which they were modeled, thereby increasing the risk of an accident, or broadening the extent of damage or injury in the event of an accident.
Furthermore, counterfeiting results in economic damage to brand owners who legitimately invest in their brands and their products, and accrue hard-earned goodwill in the process. When purchasers determine that a counterfeit item that they have purchased is not an authentic item that they intended to purchase, or does not possess the level of quality associated with the authentic item, their confidence in the brands associated with the authentic item may suffer. Where counterfeit items are sold at substantially lower prices, state and local governments also receive reduced sales tax revenues in return. Moreover, counterfeiting is also commonly associated with criminal activity ranging from sporadic, isolated criminal incidents to widespread crime organized at one or more levels.
Online marketplaces enable customers to search for or browse information regarding items that are available for purchase from a variety of sources and in a variety of ways through one or more networked pages or sites. For example, an online marketplace may offer items for sale that it owns and controls, as well as items that are owned or controlled by sellers. The sellers may elect to either deliver their items to a facility maintained by the online marketplace for distribution to customers; or maintain control over their items themselves, and deliver items ordered from the online marketplace directly to customers who purchased them.
Recently, the expansion of electronic commerce through forums such as online marketplaces has led to a corresponding increase in the sale of counterfeit goods over the Internet. Although the sale of counterfeit goods was historically associated with back-alley or backroom transactions occurring out of public view, the ever-evolving versatility of online marketplaces enables a counterfeit item to be sold online, in full view, and with the buyer and the seller never meeting face-to-face. Because online marketplaces now permit sellers from every corner of the globe to offer items to customers in similarly diverse locations through one or more web pages, the challenge associated with identifying counterfeit items that a seller intends to offer for sale via an online marketplace is particularly daunting.